Construction of ladies&#39; shoes



SWL im@ J. W. SPLDING CONSTRUCTION OF LADIES SHOES Filed Deo. 4 1957ATTORNEY through the sole.

United States Patent Oliliee 2,852,865 Patented Sept. 23, 1958CONSTRUCTION OF LADIES SHOES John W. Spalding, Akron, Ohio, assigner toRemington Products Co., Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio ApplicationDecember 4, 1957, Serial No. 700,616

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-37) This invention relates to the construction of aladys shoe, and particularly the lining of a high-style shoe. Theinvention includes both the shoe and the lining.

By a high-style shoe we refer to a shoe with a heel higher than a flatheel. In such a shoe the heel is suticiently high to cause the wearersfoot to slide into the toe unless special means is provided to preventthis.

The heel of a high-style shoe is ordinarily attached to the sole of theshoe by nails and a screw driven down The heads of the screw and nailsare exposed on the interior of the shoe. It is customary to cover thesewith a sock lining. The sock lining cushions some of the grosserirregularities in the inner surface of the sole, but is not particularlyresilient.

According to this invention the heel portion of the sole, whether or notnails or screws or both have been used to attach the heel is coveredwith a thin sponge, and preferably a rubber sponge which cushions theheel and prevents irregularities in the inner surface of the sole fromhaving any effect on the heel of a person wearing the shoe. 'This spongeis covered with a sock lining. The combination of the sock lining andsponge is referred to herein as a shoe lining.

There are openings in the heel of the sock lining used in thecombination lining of the invention, and projections on the top surfaceof the cushion extend up through these at least substantially to thelevel of the top of the sock llining to provide an anti-slip surface onthe inner foot-engaging surface of the shoe. The surfaces of theseprojections which are exposed through the openings in the sock liningpresent a sponge surface for contactwith the heel of the lady wearingthe shoe (or of the ladys sock or stocking). This contact with theexposed sponge surfaces prevents the ladys heel, and thus her wholefoot, from sliding forward toward the toe of the shoe. Such sliding isparticularly objectionable in open-toed and pointed-toe shoes which arenow in vogue.

The openings in the sock lining through which the projections on thesponge protrude are relatively narrow in at least one dimension. If theywere not narrow in one dimension, the sock lining would lose shape. Thepreferred method of fastening the sock lining to the cushion is bycementing, and a lining which is capable of losing its shape is more aptto separate from the cushion, when in use, than a lining which cannotlose its shape.

The shape of the openings may be varied. They may be long, narrowopenings running the length of the shoe, or they may be located acrossthe shoe. They may be small, circular openings distributed over theentire heel surface. In fact, they may be any shape so long as the socklining retains its shape. The openings may be in the form of atrademark, or the initials or name of the manufacturer, and in such casethe openings may be made in the same manner as stencils with bridgesacross the openings at intervals so that the shape of the sock lining ismaintained. The openings will be such as to make the shoe attractive andthe sponge and sock lining may be colored diiferently to produce anattractive color contrast and saleability to the shoe.

The interior of the shoe of this invention is attractive, the spongeprevents the foot from slipping forward in the shoe, and the cushion islocated under the wearers heel and cushions any irregularities in thesurface of the sole construction at the heel, and the constant jarincident to walking.

The invention will be further described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a top View of a shoe liningwhich includes a sock lining with a cushion under the heel thereof;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through a shoe, partly insection, constructed according to the invention; and

Fig. 3 is an exploded View ofthe heel portion of the sock lining andcushion, with the latter partly in section.

The cushion 1 is preferably a sponge-rubber .cushion but it may be asponge of other composition, and -a lowdensity rubber which is not asponge may be used. The cushion may be molded to the proper shape, orprojections 3 may be cemented on to a .flat piece of cushioningmaterial, or the projections may be formed in any desired manner.

As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the shape and arrangement of the openings 5in the sock lining 6 are complementary to the shape and arrangement ofthe projections 3, so that when the sock lining is placed in the desiredposition on the cushion, the projections 3 extend upwardly into andpossibly through the openings 5.

These openings 5 are relatively long in the direction across the shoe,but in the other direction are relatively narrow. The bridges 7 of thesock lining between the openings 5 prevent the sock lining from losingits shape. As the projections extend up through the sock lining theirtops are substantially flush with the top surface of the sock lining ormay extend somewhat above it. Unless they come at least substantially tothe upper surface of thesock lining, they are of little value inpreventing the wearers foot from slipping down into the toe of the shoe.

As best shown by the dotted line 8 in Fig. l, which represents theoutline of the sponge, the sponge is preferably smaller in area than theheel of the sock lining so that the sponge does not come to the edge ofthe lining. This is so that the sock lining will cover the edge of thecushion in the nished shoe, as illustrated in Fig. 2 which shows theback edge 8 of the cushion covered by the sock lining. This enhances theappearance of the shoe.

Figure 2 is intended to represent any typical shoe construction. Itincludes the sole 10, the wooden portion 11 of the heel which may be ofany desired height, with a lift 12 attached to the bottom of it. Theshoe is merely representative of the many designs of ladies shoes and isnot intended to4 limit the scope of the claims. It shows the shoe upper13 which encloses the instep of the foot, and in this particular designthe toes are all exposed. The strap 14 passes around the heel. In suchshoes the tendency is for the ladys heel to separate from the bottom ofthe wearers foot as she takes a step. The cushion reduces or eliminatessuch separations.

Figure 2 shows a leather or plastic sheet 15 covering the wooden heel. Ascrew 16 passes through the sole into the heel and also several nails 17hold the sole to the heel. Usually there are ive such nails, but thenumber of nails is not critical. It is not necessary that there be ascrew or that there be nails in the shoe of this invention. If thereare, the cushion covers irregularities formed by them in the heelportion of the shoe, and thus adds to the comfort of the wearer.

In assembling the shoe the cushion is preferably first cemented totheunderside ofthe heel ofthe sock lining. This combination lining is thencemented to the sole.

Figure- 2 shows the sponge projections 3 extending somewhat above thelevel of the sock lining. This is very effective but not necessary. Solong as the pressure of the heel of-'the wearer causes-contact with thecushion, the tendency of the foot to slipdowntoward the toe of the shoeis reduced or eliminated. The sock lining will usually be made of thinleather or a plastic leather substitute. The base of the'sponge, i. e.the portiony from which the projections extend, is normally about inchthiol'` and the projections are at least about as thickas the socklining.

The drawing and description are illustrative. vention is covered in theclaims which follow.

What I claim is:

l. A ladys high-style shoe which includes head-bearing metallicfastening means passing through the heel portionof the sole of the shoeinto the heel and holding the heel to the sole, the heads of saidfastening means forming irregularities in said heel portion, cushioningmeans The in positioned in the heel portion of theshoe covering saidirregularities, a sock lining over the cushion, at least one raised areaon the top surface of the cushion andv at least one opening in thelining complementary in arrangement and shape to said raised area Withthe raised area extending upwardly through the opening to at least theheight of the to-p surface of the lining, and means holding the cushionand lining in said position in the shoe.

2. A ladys high-heel shoe having a sole extending throughout the heelarea, a sponge heel cushion attached to said solo at the heel area, asock liner over said cushion provided with at least one opening, andsaid sponge cushion being provided with a raised extention complementaryto said opening in the sock lining, of sufficient height to extendthrough the sock lining whereby to provide an anti-slip surface on theinner foot-engaging surface of the shoe.

France O'ct. 6, 1902

